Saturday, June 1, 2013

How the Daily Star viewed the remand of Babunagari: The missing parts

The Daily Star never fails to surprise me with its
diabolical brand of journalism that so nakedly emanates hatred; hatred of
anything not relating to their version of events, especially in the field of
religion. Past articles have unashamedly labeled members of political parties
calling for realization of Islam in all spheres of life as being fundamentalists,
radicals and even bigots and miscreants. That view has resonated throughout
recent articles.

Take the recent article detailing the granting of bail in
two cases to Junaid Babunagari. Terming it as ‘quizzical’,
the daily termed Babunagari, the ‘cop murder accused’ (!) as lucky, while at
the same time, compared his case with that of two BNP leaders who they did not
get bail for (the lesser charge) of "assault", and termed them as ‘unlucky’.

The underlying drift is all too clear. The Daily Star believes that
Babunagari should not have deserved bail, because of its staunch and inherently
prejudiced belief that,

1)Babunagari was directly involved in the murder of the cop.
He is a criminal. He is guilty until proven innocent

2)The claims of the Hefazat that a massacre happened on the
6th of May are baseless. The Daily Star has ‘already proved’ that
nobody had died due to police action (despite claims to the contrary). Whoever died had died due to their
own extreme actions of atrociously attacking the police. They had even burnt
the Quran for God’s Sake!(although I have tried my utmost to falsify that claim with facts)

I shall not go into more details of the hypocritical nature
of the Daily Star’s journalism. Let me finish with an explanation as to what
happened to Junaid Babunagari that necessitated his getting bail. I am posting
here a translated
version (courtesy of Progress Bangladesh) of news originally posted online by
Amardesh.
This was what the Daily Star conveniently forgot to cover,

“Secretary General of Hefazat-e-Islam and respected Islamic scholar, Mawlana
Junaid Babunagari, is in critical condition following prolonged remand in
police custody. He is being kept in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and on a Life
Support Machine in Dhaka’s Bardem Hospital.

A reliable source has informed that he was taken in to ICU on Tuesday when
his situation deteriorated following an operation on his leg. He had been
admitted to Bardem Hospital from Prison last Saturday. He was taken for
treatment as his leg was rotting after it had developed a gangrene infection.
Mawlana Babunagari suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure. After
his admission, five consultants sat for a board meeting to discuss his
condition. The final decision was to operate on his leg after his condition
became fatal in the space of a few days. The operation was carried out on
Monday. However towards the afternoon when his kidney failed he was put on a
kidney dialysis machine.

Police and a reliable source from the Hospital has informed that Babunagari
was wounded and bruised with black marks stretching from his waist down to his
legs. Severe and callous torture was inflicted on him during Remand. Hefazat
leaders have claimed that severe torture in Remand has led to the life and
death situation of Babunagari. After he was admitted to hospital, doctors observed countless wound marks
that were visible from his waist downwards and other parts of the body. His
blood sugar level was 27. Apart from that he was suffering from other
illnesses. A medical board was set up to discuss how to treat him using the
latest technology. He is currently being treated under the boards close
supervision. There is an urgent need for the swollen area on his left leg to be
operated on; the operation is intended to be conducted within two days.

After his admission in to Birdem Hospital, law enforcement agencies deployed
many of its members to guard the room where he was being kept. Police force was
also keeping a close eye on who was entering and leaving the room. For special
security two close CCTV cameras were placed in front of his room number 601
last Sunday.

Director of Bardem Hospital Brigadier General (Retired) Shahidul Haque
Mollik told us that to discuss the latest treatment facilities for Babunagari a
board was set up last Sunday. The retired Brigadier said after placing CCTV
cameras in front of his room even the hospital staff were told to be wary when
they move about. Currently, apart from the police or specific doctors treating
him no one else is allowed to enter his room.

Police have claimed that after 13 days of remand were over on 21st of May
and he was brought to court, Babaunagari made an attestable confession. However
Hefazat has said that Mawlana Junaid Babunagari was taken in to remand and
severely tortured, he was then forced to make a false confession under Law 164
by the detective branch. Babunagari did not willingly make that confession and
later he was forced to sign a written copy of the fabricated confession which
the Police are using as evidence.

Police arrested Mawlana Babunagari on 6th of May from Lalbagh area of Dhaka
city. On 7th of May He was taken in to remand for nine days. Finally on the
16th of May, Babunagari was given a further 22 days of remand for 3 cases in
Mothijheel prison.”

May Allah grant the great man Shifaa and bring him back among us healthy and
safe. I urge the Daily Star to stop this madness called yellow journalism. You
have shamed the profession of journalism.